Dear son, I saw you not see her that day. I saw her. I watched her step into the pool next to her own young boys. At the sight of her tan skin and exposed body, I fought to push my own insecurities aside. I smiled at her.

But you? You didn’t even see her. As her sons splashed and played, you joined right along. Your eyes were glued on the bright plastic water gun in her hands.

But one day soon, my son, I know that your eyes will linger. It won’t be the water gun you’re watching, it will be her. I know there is a battle ahead of you, one you’re fully unaware of right now. I hate that you will struggle. I hate that you will have to face this battle every day. But we cannot be angry at this world you’re growing up in. We can’t judge that mama. What we can do is go in prepared.

What you can do, my son, is fix your eyes on what is good, pure, and wonderful. Chase after the most authentic, genuine beauty this world has to offer. It doesn’t actually come from this world, my boy, it comes from the One who made it. You did just that at the pool that day, a half hour before we met the other mama and her boys. You swam over to me with a thought on your mind. “Mom, water is what most reminds me of God, because water is in everything alive.”

That, my son, will be the victory in this battle. Fix your eyes on the Author of beauty.

I realize, with great weight, how much of this falls on your Daddy and me, and we’ll do everything in our power to help you. I saw it for the first time a couple of years ago while reading in Proverbs.

“My son, keep your father’s commandment,
and forsake not your mother’s teaching.
Bind them on your heart always;
tie them around your neck.
When you walk, they will lead you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
and when you awake, they will talk with you.
For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light,
and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,
to preserve you from the evil woman,
from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.” Proverbs 6:20-24

Oh, that our teaching would guide you to the most magnificent kind of beauty there is on this earth. A beauty that is truly eternal. An unworldly beauty. This is what I promise you, my son: that by the grace and help of Jesus, we will equip you with the teaching that will speak to you when you wake, lead you as you walk, and watch over you while you sleep. A teaching not burdensome, but freeing. A teaching that will guide you to the most magnificent beauty you can ever imagine. We will walk with you in creation, read with you the words of the One who made it all, and spend time together dwelling on what is good.

One day soon, my son, your eyes will linger. And I promise we’ll be here for you when that day comes, right by your side, pursuing the most magnificent beauty there is to find — a beauty well worth the chase.